Culvert



verts of large size.

' the culvert to be Patented Apr. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES WILLIAM J.TUR/NER, OF

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI CUL-VERT Aypncafion fiiea June 13,

This inventionrelates to culvert construction and the object of theinvention is to produce a culvert construction of exceptional strengthparticularly adapted for'use inlcul- The invention relates generally tothe same general class of structure as disclosed in my Patent No.1,403,063, issued January 10, 1922, but dilfers from the construction ofthat vert of my prior invention was composed of units of a plurality ofplies in thickness whereas the culvert of the present invention is builtup from a plurality of units each of which is, in the direction of itsthickness, composed of a single ply.V

Speaking generally, the object of the invention is to provide a culvertof great strength which may be made of scrap timber. As no great lengthsare required ordinarily, the ordinary scrap has been found to giveviding the great strength which isrequired in some culvertconstructions. The present invention is characterizedby the fact thatthe timbers which go to make up the respective units of the culvert,instead of being laid flat with respect to the face of the unit, are seton edge so that their greatest crosssectional dimensions are in thedirection of the thickness of the unit. For example, if designedrequires for the necessary strength a 6 make up the culvert are orlumber 6 wide and appropriate thickness such as two or four inches asmay be convenient. These various timbers lare placed on edge in faceabutt'ing relation and are securely bound together to form one of theunits of the culvert by bolts or tie rods. These tie rods are associatedwith the units by boring holes from one end to the other through theunits, by then passing the tie rods through these holes in Itheconsecutive planks and bolting the planks firmly together or headingover the end of the tie rods, as by riveting or in any other suitableway. The advantage of this construction is that the respective planks inany particular unit. are firmly'and positively bound together by thetension member which extends for composed of planks patent in that thecul-4 very satisfactory results while prowall, the units which theymaybe of any 1931. SeraI No. 544,232.

the full length of the unit and my experience has shown that no matterhow heavy the individual planks may be and no matter how large the unitsmay individually be constructed said units will maintain their shape andform; They will no-t warp, bend or become distorted and will standtremendous external as well as internal pressures.

The culvert of this invention is made up of a plurality of units of thischaracter.

hat is to say, four walls of the culvert of rectangular cross-sectionare each composed of a succession of these units placed end to end andsecuredtoone another and laterally adjacent units of the other walls inany appropriate Vmanner.

The structure of this invention Vpermits me to ship units in knockdownform to the place where they are to be assembled and they lmay thus beset up and united to form a finished culvert of great strength,rigidity, and durability. The lumber entering into the construction maybe treated with preservatlves against boring inseots or decay and suchpreservatives mayconveniently be creos'ote or any other similarSubstance. i

'Features of the invention, other than those specified, will be apparentfrom the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when readiniconjunction with the accompanying drawings. i i

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated onepractical form ofthe invention but the showing herein made' is to be understood asillustrative only and Inot as defining the limits'of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of aculvertembodying the present invention. In this view two of the unitsare shown as removed from thecul-y vert to more clearly illustrate themanner in which the various units are assembled to form a completestructure. I

Figure 2' is a perspective view showing'on somewhat enlarged scale themanner in which two of the culvert sections are fabricated and joinedtogether.

Figure 3 shows an employ to secure the angle bar which I may unitsformingi the top as'desired. It will of course be apparent,

however, that all of the units of any of the four sides of the culvertshould be of the same width but they may vary in length; It isdesirable, however, that they be assembled in the manner shown so thatthe joints between the units of the top and bottom of the joints betweenbers in face abutting relation.

culvert will be staggered with respect to the the units at the sides "ofthe culvert. This will give longitudinal strength Vto the culvert andwill preclude sagging.

All of the units are preferably individually fabricated in the samemanner and in Figure 2 I have shown how they are built up. Each unit ismade by arranging on edge a succession of boards, planks or timbers' 4so that their edges preferably lie in the same plane with the faces ofthe consecutive timi The timbers are arranged in succession in themanner stated until the unit of the desired length has been obtained andthen tie bolts or truss rods 5 are passed'through registering holes inthe consecutive timbers after the manner shown in Figure 2 and theserods are of such length as to eXtend from one end of the unit to theother. One end of each rod may be headed while the other end of each rodis preferably threaded to receive the end 6 which when screwed upon therod eXerts sufficient tension on said rods to draw all of the timbers 4into close intimate contact and bind them firmly together. The holes inthe several timbers through which the rods 5 extend may be bored beforeassembly through the use of an appropriate templet orjig 'but if desiredthe timbers may first be assemble and the boring operation carried onfor the entire length of the units. Furthermore the terminal timbers ofthe units are preferably provided at their outer faces with recesses inthe region of the holes which receive the rods and the heads and ends ofthe rods are received'in these recesses so that the ends o the units areflush. Threaded boltsl with nuts as described are preferably used tobind the timbers of the units together but the rods may be headed overat both ends if desired. Wood preservative such as creosote may beemployed to advantage and timbersmay be creosoted either before or afterassembly. In any event when these timbers are wholly drawn togetherVwith a coating of creosote they provide. an absolutely liquid and airtight wall of great strength, the actual seinbled at the factory placeof use there to be joined together to' strength of which depends uponthe width of the timbers employed. For various culvert constructions Ihave used in the past timbers Qi, X sll, 2,/ X ll, 21/ X 5,/7 2/1 X 61,according to the width of transverse span of the wall of which the unitis to form a part although it is entirely feasible to use thicker andwider timbers where the circumstances require greater strength. Theparticular dimensions given are those which I have mainly used and arefor the purpose of illustration only. I do not bind myself to exactdimensions, the invention beingV directed in this connection to thesetting of the timbers on edge and in face abutting relation to form theculvert walls, and being further directed to the use of tension barssuch as tie rods extending the full length ofthe units and binding thevarious timbers firmly together.

If such a unit is built of ordinary lumber and is subsequently Operatingin the ground or used to convey liquids, the moisture which willinvariably work into the lumber would tend to slightly increase thethickness of the individual timbers and in so doing will make the jointseven tighter than they were.

In carrying out this invention I may use any desired number of tie rods5 as described and they may be positioned in any suitable' place withrespect to the thickness or width of the individual unit in which theyare incorporated but I have found that three rods are entirelysatisfactory for the majority of culverts and that these rods are bestdisposed' as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings wherein I haveillustrated two rods adjacent the lateral edges of the unit and alsoadjaeent one face of the unit with the third rod positionedsubstantially midway of the the. unit and adj aeent the opposite face.This arrangement will effectually keep the timbers from warping andpreclude the opening of the joints between consecutive timbers at anypoint or adjacent either face. In'practice the'units may be individuallyfabricated either at the place where they are to be ultimately used orthey may be asand Shipped to the form the culvert. In any event thetimbers which make up the unit are cut to length at the factory and ifthey are to be joined at their ends this operation is also carried outat the same time so that there will be no actual carpenter worknecessary on the job. This minimizes expense and expedites the actualbuilding of the culvert.

The units may be made to cooperate at their lateral edges with thecontiguous edges of other units to form the four walls of the culvert ofrectangular characterization and in the acc-ompanying drawings the unitsare provided at the edges with stepped joints. This is a Verysatisfactory joint as it perthe culvert, i. e. the

width of llO '35 culvert may be mits the units to be readily lined up inbuilding the culvert. I am of course aware that other forms of jointssuch as a mitred joint may be employed and I do not limit the inventionto the particular type of joint shown.

f course, the units which form the top, bottom and side walls of theculvert must be secured together. This may be accomplished as shown inmy prior patent hereinbefore referred to or in any other suitable way.

or eXampleI may use the angle bars such as illustrated in Figure 3 whichangle bars after being placed over the edges of the culvert are securedto the walls which they overlap by means of spikes to bind the partstogether. VVhen the units are staggered so as to break joints as shownin Figure 1 it is not necessary to actually secure to one another theconsecutive units of any particular wall of the culvert, for obviousreasons, but they may be secured together by bolts or in any othersuitable manner without departing from this invention. The culvert ofthis invention embodies many marked practical advantages. For example,if a culvert of great strength is required to be built in some out ofthe way place it is entirely practical according to this invention tocut to size and shape the timbers which will necessarily be incorporatedinto each unit and to ship these timbers jointed and bored for the tierods, in knockdown creosoted condition in a box car or by truck directlyto the job, with an appropriate number of tie r-ods to bind theconstituent parts of the several necessary units together. Men at thejob may, without the use of derricks, lifts or other machinery necessaryto handle great weights, pick up these easily handled weights and placethem in the position which they are to occupy in a suflicient number,for example, to constitute one unit and the tie rods may then be drawnthrough the holes of the timbers of this unit and the nuts applied tobind the timbers together, and the unit which could not possibly behandled without the use of weight lifting machinery, is readilyinstalled and yet no such machinery is necessary under the practice as Ihave outlined it. N evertheless, the resulting unit will be of greatstrength and thoroughly eflicient for its intended purposes. On the-other hand on j obs where derricks or hoists may be used withconvenience the units may be completed at the factory and shipped inthis condition on flat cars or otherwise to the job there to be pickedup by derricks and lifted into place to complete the culvert. It willthus be apparent that I can employ the present invention in a mannerthoroughly practical for any type of job and in either small or largebuilding operations in a thoroughly convenient and practical way. I wishit also understood that the joints between the several units of thecovered, calked or otherwise rendered Water tight to preclude leakage orseepage without departing from this invention.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in itspreferred practical form, but the invention is to be understood as fullycommensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A culvert embodying a plurality of units, each of which units isfabricated from pieces of lumber stood on edgeand extending transverselyof the culvert with the longitudinal edges of said pieces of lumberforming inner and outer surfaces of the culvert and the faces of theconsecutive pieces in face abutting relation, tie rods eXtending throughthe pieces of lumber of each particular unit from end to end of saidunit in a direction longitudinal of the culvert and serving to bind allthe pieces of lumber of each particular unit firmly together to form theunit, and additional means acting upon the several units independentlyof the tie rods for securing the several units to one another to formthe culvert.

2. A culvert embodying a plurality of units each of which isindividually built and may be handled separately, each unit comprisingpieces of lumber set on edge with the faces of consecutive pieces inface abutting relation and with solid tie rods extending through all thepieces of each individual unit to secure said pieces to one another,each piece of lumber being jointed at its opposite ends to cooperatewith complementary joints in the lumber of the laterally adjacent unitsof the culvert, and means, separate and independent of said tie rods,for fastening the several units together to form a finished culvert, thejoints between the consecutive units of the top, bottom and side wallsof the culvert breaking joints with respect to one another to render theculvert longitudinally rigid.

In testimony whercof, I have signed the foregoing specification.

WILLIAM J. TURNER.

